Natalie and Paul Lebedev greet Ukrainian nationals arriving at the Richardson International Airport, in Winnipeg, on May 23, 2022.David Lipnowski/The Canadian Press
Immigration Minister Marc Miller says he is not ruling out allowing Ukrainians who fled the war in their homeland to settle here eventually and has no plans to send them back to a war zone.
In an interview, Mr. Miller said granting permanent residence to hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians is not “off the table,” although he said it is not a priority for the government.
“It isn’t on the front burner for a variety of reasons, not that I don’t take it seriously. Because as time goes on, people have kids and families, integrate to Canada, and so there’s obviously a want and a need to stay and in many circumstances, we shouldn’t say no,” he said.
When Russia invaded Ukraine in February, 2022, the Canadian government enacted the Canada-Ukraine authorization for emergency travel, allowing an unlimited number of Ukrainians fleeing the war to work, study and stay in Canada for up to three years. In August, the government allowed Ukrainians who came here on the program to apply for new three-year permits to stay in Canada.
Of the 1.2 million Ukrainians who applied to come to Canada, 298,000 arrived here, a few thousand of whom are believed to have since returned.
More than 90 per cent of the Ukrainians with special temporary visas want to settle here, according to Pathfinders for Ukraine, an advocacy group for Ukrainians displaced by the war.
But Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has made clear he wants Ukrainians who fled the war to return to help rebuild their country.
Mr. Miller said “the geopolitical reality” is that Ukrainians who came here under the temporary visa program would be expected to go back once peace is restored.
“The need to rebuild Ukraine when there’s a proper peace is something that’s real, and I think these people would be expected to contribute,” Mr. Miller said in an interview.
Some Ukrainians who came here on the special program have already obtained permanent residence, including through provincial programs in Saskatchewan and Alberta.
Randall Baran-Chong, executive director of Pathfinders for Ukraine, has been urging the government to create a special pathway to permanent residence for the almost 300,000 Ukrainians who came here on temporary visas.
“Providing war-displaced Ukrainians – who are de facto refugees – safety, certainty, and ability to build a normal life in Canada through a pathway to permanent residency is an act of humanity,” he said. “Children are flourishing in schools, their parents are working hard and paying taxes, and they are contributing to communities across Canada.”
Earlier this year, the government scaled back the number of permanent and temporary residents it aims to accept, to reduce pressure on housing and other services. It said it would aim for 40 per cent of permanent residency places to be granted to people who are already here.
Ottawa plans to reduce new permanent resident numbers from 500,000 to 395,000 next year and from 500,000 to 380,000 in 2026. Ottawa set a target of 365,000 new permanent residents in 2027.
Patrick MacKenzie, CEO of the Immigrant Employment Council of B.C., said many Ukrainians who fled the war are “clearly making a contribution.” He said in considering permanent residence, a balance needs to be struck between the “absorptive capacity of the communities they are in” and the impact on businesses where they are working if they lose them.